2-745-970 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Wheat Field, c. 1875-1877. Inness began his career executing detailed, realistic landscapes in a style similar to other artists of the Hudson River School. After a series of trips to Europe, as well as growing involvement in Swedenborgianism--the spiritual doctrines of the theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg--Inness created increasingly free, mystical, and expansive paintings. This work was painted following a visit to France and Italy from 1870 to 1874, during what has been considered the most important phase of Inness’s career. Here a group of farmers harvest grain in the foreground, while a storm seems to be brewing in the background. Inness frequently used approaching storms as a sign of God revealing himself in nature. The notion that the natural world was imbued with the spirit of the divine was an important component of Inness’s religious beliefs.